Combustion and pollution control system

Abstract

A controlled amount of a fluid (steam or water or a solution of water plus additives) is injected into an internal combustion engine to improve combustion, efficiency, and to reduce emissions. The amount of the fluid injected is controlled in response to engine need. The steam is generated by the heat produced by the engine. Combustion gas temperature is used to control the amount of steam produced by varying the fluid flow through one or more fixed or variable orifice control valves. The steam is injected in a piston engine to cool peak temperatures, to prevent detonation and pre-ignition, to smooth out hot spots, to prevent auto-ignition or dieseling, and to use the vapor energy in the expansion cycle to increase low speed torque and acceleration. The steam is used to cause full retard of the vacuum spark advance during acceleration at full load from low speed, and a large amount of steam is injected at this point in the cycle to prevent pre-ignition and detonation. Ultrasonic energy is added to the injected steam to produce better mixing and distribution. Hydrogen is also injected to permit better combustion with higher amounts of air. The hydrogen is produced by the interaction of a catalyst on the steam and fuel hydrocarbons and ultrasonic energy. At times exhaust gas and other additives, such as hydrogen peroxide, methyl alcohol and ammonia are injected.

I claim: 
     
       1. A method for providing improved combustion and reduced emissions in an internal combustion engine, having a combustion zone and an exhaust, comprising feeding both fuel and controlled amounts of steam into said combustion zone via an ultrasonic generator and subjecting it there to ultrasonic treatment, and     in response to engine needs, increasing the weight ratio of said aqueous fluid to said fuel during engine acceleration.   
     
     
       2. The method of claim 1 wherein the steam is injected in a carburetor passageway just downstream of the throat and acts on the boundary layer of the fuel-air mixture flowing through the passageway as a fluidic amplifier to cause sweeping of the mixture flow across the passageway in resonance with the shock waves produced by the injected steam. 
     
     
       3. The method of claim 1 including reforming a part of the injected steam by a catalyst to produce hydrogen gas and feeding the hydrogen gas to said combustion zone. 
     
     
       4. The method of claim 1 including reforming part of the fuel hydrocarbons by a catalyst to produce hydrogen gas and feeding the hydrogen gas to said combustion zone. 
     
     
       5. A method of improving a combustion process of the kind in which a fuel is mixed with air and vaporized and then burned in a combustion chamber of an engine, said method comprising, injecting steam into the combustion chamber and including adding ultrasonic energy to the steam injected into the combustion chamber, and   controlling the amount of fluid injected in response to a condition of the combustion,   including increasing the flow rate of fluid to the combustion chamber with increasing heat generation in the combustion chamber.   
     
     
       6. A method as defined in claim 5 wherein the ultrasonic energy is produced by injecting the steam through a small orifice. 
     
     
       7. A method as defined in claim 5 wherein the ultrasonic energy is produced by mechanical means acting on the flow of steam. 
     
     
       8. A method as defined in claim 5 wherein the ultrasonic energy is produced by transmitting the steam through a whistle. 
     
     
       9. Apparatus for providing improved combustion and reduced emissions in an internal combustion process engine comprising the combination of a combustion chamber,   means for feeding fuel into said combustion chamber,   means for injecting controlled amounts of steam into said combustion chamber and including ultrasonic injector means for adding ultrasonic energy to the injected steam, and     means in response to engine need for increasing the weight ratio of said aqueous fluid to said fuel during engine acceleration.